Investigation of high-contrast velocity selective optical pumping resonance at the cycling transition of Cs using fluorescence technique

Abstract A high contrast (∼48%) Velocity Selective Optical Pumping (VSOP) resonance at the closed transition F g =4→ F e =5 of Cs-D 2 line is obtained in the fluorescence signal under co-propagating pump-probe configuration. We use a 5.2 μm cell operating at reduced temperature (∼55 °C) and the intensity of the pump-laser is kept lower than that of the probe-laser. The observed sharp narrow structure is suitable for side-arms frequency-locking of the cooling- (i.e. probe-) laser in a cold atom experiment, with possibility for “− Γ ” to “−4 Γ ” red-detuning and “+ Γ ” to “+10 Γ ” blue-detuning using the standard properties of the commercially available electronics. We have developed a theoretical model corresponding to the thin cell, incorporating the atomic time-of-flight dependent optical pumping decay rate to describe the dimensional anisotropy of the thin cell. The model shows good qualitative agreement with the observation and simulates as well the cases of cells with smaller thickness. It also describes correctly the temperature dependence of the line broadening and shows the potential for further optimization and red-shift detuning above “−4 Γ ”. It may be of interest for further development of miniaturized modules, like the recently developed portable small magneto-optical traps.